Greetings SUPERVIVERs! In between missing our Cybertiger Jin daggers, we’ve been hard at work on our second prototype mode, which we’re previewing here before it releases in patch 2.02. Along with that, today we’re covering some more details on our ongoing Item work, and additional map extensions coming to the Breach! Here we go!
ITEM UPDATE
Last dev blog, we talked about some of our goals with the Armory update, specifically improving consistency across the board along with making item roles more clear and accessible. We released the first batch of these updates to grips and kicks in Tournament mode last patch.
We’re still tweaking the balance of the new items (with data from our tournament preview along with feedback from the VIVE Council.) Once we get that feeling right, our plan is to bring them to BR as well. We’re also doing some art adjustments for these items, so they should better represent their archetypes at a glance.
Previously, we mentioned that we were looking at making some changes to relics as well, including adding base stats across the board. Several of you have weighed in with your perspective, and a common theme we’ve been hearing is that many players really enjoy the fact that relics are more focused around actives & passives rather than base stats - specifically calling out the benefits of flexibility when choosing your loadout in BR. So, given that feedback, we’re rethinking our approach. We may still make some changes to relics for tournament mode, but likely not do so at the cost of the flexible builds for the Breach.
MAP
Back in Patch 1.03, we made some changes to the Breach map to avoid too many empty spaces and adding more ground combat zones. We’re happy with how this change landed, and are looking to do a part 2 in an upcoming patch. What we’re targeting this round isn’t just reducing Abyss deserts, but making sure we have some more “mid-sized” landmasses that can serve as a location for two teams to contest - rather than just one team to hold. Tournament Mode has helped us get a better sense of what sorts of layouts perform well here, so we’re excited to bring some of those learnings over.
MODES
And speaking of modes…
Initially our plan was to rotate out prototype modes after one or two patches. But after keeping an eye on how tournament is performing, it seems like it has an audience who’s enjoying it, and isn’t having a significant impact on queue times. So we’re going to keep 3v3 tournament on for the time being. We’re also looking to add ranked to this queue, so you’ll be able to see how you stack up against others.
In 2.02, we’ll be releasing our next prototype mode - Domination! Domination is inspired by classic capture-and-hold gameplay, and rewards defensive play and coordination. It also features our biggest team sizes for a SUPERVIVE mode - with six players on each team.
Though SUPERVIVE has capture points in other modes, they usually take a backseat to other objectives - like wiping the enemy team. Making Attacking/Defending these points the main goal of a mode encourages playing your Hunter kit in a slightly different way, and we’re looking forward to seeing how players (and the meta) adapt. Throughout testing, we also realized that the default control point size just wasn’t big enough to reliably contest - especially with the increased team size. So you’ll notice capture points are much bigger in Domination. We’re excited to see what you think!
That’s it for today, check out Domination mode in patch 2.02 next week!